View of crowd at a airport near San Jose in Costa Rica. President John Kennedy emerges from a helicopter and receives a tumultuous welcome from crowd in San Jose and is greeted by Costa Rican President Francisco Orlich. Nearly everybody in San Jose turn out to cheer President Kennedy. President making a speech. President Kennedy enters National Theatre with other dignitaries where first session of the conference with Heads of six Central American Nations is held. New measures to meet subversive aggression from Cuba are decided. President Kennedy at University of Costa Rica cheered by huge crowd and pledges new aid for economic development in both Central and South America.

Aviator Charles Lindbergh visits San Jose, Costa Rica. Costa Rican policemen on horses control the large crowd on an air field. The civilians await his arrival. His plane 'Spirit of Saint Louis' approaches and lands. Lindbergh greets military officers and government officials. 'Spirit of Saint Louis' in the background. Throngs on the streets. The military band plays. People wait for a glimpse of the aviator. Policemen on horses keep a vigil.

U.S. military canal defense and base security requirements and future requirements regarding proposed canal relocations in Panama. A U.S. officer conducts a JCS (Joint Chiefs of Staff) briefing in the United States. A map of Panama shows military training areas. The map shows Pecora-Chepo, Pina-Range, Mandinga and Madden as military training areas. An officer speaks. A map shows Costa Rica border, present canal zone in Eastern Panama and Atrato River in Columbia. The officers speak about canal relocations and future requirements in Panama. A map of Panama shows present canal zone. An officer speaks.

View of a sea coast in Costa Rica. Ocean waves hit the shore wall with force . Coastal area is flooded with water which break down wooden houses. A lunch stand half drowned in the water. A broken house floats. Distant view of a ship in water. People observe the damage to a boat.

Aftermath of Pearl Harbor attack. People in Oahu, Hawaii, prepare to deal with more air attacks by Japanese. Armed U.S. soldier in sandbagged position, in Hawaii. The territorial governor of Hawaii, Joseph Poindexter, signing a declaration of Martial Law. Four thousand members of Oahu's Civil Defense Committee, dressed in dark bottoms and white tops, wearing steel helmets with "W" on them, standing at attention in formation on grounds of a stadium. Windows in all downtown shops taped to prevent flying glass. Sand bags surrounding a power substation. Huge quantities of barbed wire in a storage yard and strung along the beaches, along highways, around schools, and public buildings of Oahu. A man pushing a lawn mower between sandbagged defense positions in a residential neighborhood. Construction machinery digging defensive trenches. Bomb shelters being constructed of precast concrete. Air raid sirens installed and school children leaving their building and sheltering in deep trenches during a test. Very small children taking shelter in zig-zag trenches and donning gas masks. Huge assemblies of children, and of grownups, all donning gas masks. Little children being dressed in capsule-like "bunny mask" protective gear.One of them crying inside the covering. Crowds of women and children lined up on a veranda waiting to receive these "bunny masks." Military personnel, civilians, and school children, all carrying personal gas masks with them at all times. Innumerable old rubber tires saved in an open yard. Japanese-Americans donating blood to the American Red Cross and lined up to buy war bonds. Soldiers arresting a Japanese resident known to be an enemy agent. Boarded up shops of Japanese-Americans, who had been interned. Japanese-Americans removing all Japanese language signs from their areas. Language school buildings with closed signs. An empty and boarded-up Shinto temple. One Japanese-American replacing his cafe sign with one reading: "Keep 'Em Flying Cafe." U.S. Army troops posted on roadways. The Aloha Tower in camouflage paint. A Lurline steamship leaving port, and being replaced by warships. Prewar view of people enjoying Waikakee beach, and current view of two boys playing in sand near barbed wire barriers. City streets deserted at twilight, as blackout procedures take effect at dusk. Views of darkened homes and palm trees silhouetted against sky at dusk. The "ghost" of a sailor killed in World War II, stands in front of Arlington cemetery, Washington, DC, and converses with the ghost of a soldier killed in World War I. They discuss idealistic notions about ending wars for good. Displays of flags is seen, including: Australia; Belgium; Brazil; Canada; China; Costa Rica; Cuba; Czechoslovakia; Dominican Republic; England; Ethopia; Greece; Guatemala; Haiti; Honduras; India; Yugoslavia; Luxembourg; Mexico; The Netherlands; New Zealand; Nicaragua; Norway; Panama; The Philippines; Poland; Russia; El Salvador; South Africa; and the U.S.A. "V" created in the sky by a skywriting airplane.